Focus on India's World Cup preparation begins

Mumbai:  Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya's leadership skills and India's overall World Cup preparedness will be under focus when the home side begin their three-match ODI series against Australia here on Friday. Pandya will captain the Indian team in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who is unavailable for the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium due to family commitments. The day-night match will be Pandya's first as captain in an ODI, though he is the the regular India skipper in the T20 format. He is also the designated vice-captain for the ODI series.

Collectively as a team, the focus will shift from winning the four-match Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and qualifying for the World Test Championships final in June against the same opponents -- Australia -- to starting preparations for the 50-over World Cup the country is hosting later this year. Keeping in mind that India had won the title the last time the country hosted the tournament -- with MS Dhoni's team winning the trophy in 2011 -- similar expectations will be from Sharma and company. The expectations will be particularly high because the Indian team is a different beast in any format while playing at home.